Please Hold
by Dunna
Summary: Honestly, all he needed was to use her phone.
1. Chapter 1

**I know, I know, I've been gone for years. Really, I have no excuse other than life happens.**

 **This new story is based off an Argentine movie called M** _ **úsica en Espera**_ **, I'm gonna work with the same general idea for the plot but try to make it my own.**

 **Please Hold**

 _Chapter 1_

There was a horrible noise as his hands slammed down on the piano keys in frustration. He had been working on this piece for three weeks, three long and grueling weeks and he was no closer to having it finished now than he was when he first started.

Edward was a composer, he worked on movies and TV ads and nowadays pretty much anything that helped him pay the mortgage. His biggest hit had been a few years ago, he and his partner James had worked together on _Midnight Sun_ , the story of a moody vampire who fell in love with a human. Edward had found fame with that movie, he and James had offer after offer and worked together like a perfectly oiled machine until early last year, when James decided to go his own way. Edward couldn't keep up with the workload on his own and had to turn so many things down that people eventually stopped asking.

That brings us to the present, he had been commissioned to score the new Aro Volturi film _La Tua Cantante,_ there was a lot of buzz around it because Aro was such a big name in the independent film district. But try as he might Edward could not think of a single note, he could not come up with anything even suitable to present to Aro at their upcoming meeting to show his progress.

"Aaargh!" He let out a frustrated growl and grabbed at his hair. Why was this so difficult? He had worked on so many things before and never had this much trouble. Of course, this particular piece would be the deciding factor between him either keeping or losing his house, the pressure of making this work had not only gotten to him but had, to his utter annoyance, stopped his creative juices from flowing. Aro's film playing silently in the background teased and mocked him. Edward simply glared at it, his brain had nothing.

The shrill sound of his cell phone ringing snapped him out of his reverie. He looked at the caller ID, the bank. "Fuck" he muttered before accepting the call.

"Hello?"

" _May I speak to Mr. Cullen, please?"_

"Speaking"

" _Mr. Cullen this is Jessica Stanley calling from Seattle Regional Bank, this is in reference to your missed mortgage payment for this month. This is an attempt to collect a debt…"_ Edward looked to the skies while Jessica droned on and on about accrued interest and payment plans. The money wasn't there yet no matter what payment plan she was offering, what he needed was time, time to finish this fucking piece and he could get back on track. Edward looked back to the TV and his glare intensified.

"Ms. Stanley" Edward interrupted, "can I request a meeting with the lending manager to discuss this? I have money coming my way very soon and I should be able to get back on track, is he available?"

" _Mr. Cullen, in situations like this one the collections department is the one in charge of-"_

"Ms. Stanley, please, I just need to request a meeting with him. Please."

The line went silent.

" _I'll see if I can transfer you directly, please hold"_

The hold music started and Edward was mentally preparing his speech, he could do this, all he needed was a little time.

" _Thank you for holding, this is Seth at Customer Service, how may I help?"_ After Edward explained he was waiting for the manager he was placed on hold again. _"Thank you for holding, this is Mike at Accounting, how can I help you?"_ What the fuck? How hard is it to track down the man? Mike placed Edward on hold again, he was starting to lose his patience. The little jingles were starting to piss him off. _"Thank you for holding this is Tyler at Collections, how may I assist you?"_

This was some kind of joke, right?

"Tyler, my name is Edward Cullen and I was holding for the lending manager, I keep getting placed on hold and transferred to the wrong per-"

" _Please hold"_

"No! Don't place me on hold, do not place me on hold!" he jumped off the couch at lightning speed. As soon as he heard the music start Edward threw his phone at the cushions and let out a stream of expletives. If Tyler had been in front of Edward, he would've punched the living daylights out of him. He exhaled and pulled at his hair trying to calm down, he sat back down and closed his eyes before bringing the phone back to his ear.

Edward waited and the song kept playing, every song so far had been different, every single one annoying him more than the last. This one was a piano piece, the notes flowing seamlessly making a beautiful sound, Edward's eyes popped open and he looked towards the film, the score fit the movie perfectly, this was the melody he was trying so hard to come up with, Edward enjoyed the score for a few moments longer, marveling at how rare it was that the inspiration he was lacking would come as hold music from his bank.

Before he could fully grasp the melody enough to be able to replicate it the line was picked up, _"Thank you for holding, this is Isabella Swan in credit lending, how may I help?"_

Edward blinked, his melody was gone. "Can you put me back on hold, please?"

" _Sorry?"_

"The hold music that was playing could save my life and just need to hear it again. Please! Can you place me back on hold?"

" _Sir, there are professionals who may be able to help you"_

Edward closed his eyes in frustration and suppressed a groan. "Miss…?"

" _Isabella Swan"_

"Ms. Swan, my name is Edward Cullen. I really, really just need you to place me on hold. I can't explain it but it is hugely important"

Frankly, Bella had bigger things to worry about than try to make sense of some freak who only called to be placed on hold. _"Okay, sir"_

The hold music started again, Edward wished against hope that the jingle he so needed would play again. But just like every other time he had been placed on hold, it was a different song.

 **-PH-**

After being transferred three other times -every time a different jingle played- Edward was finally able to speak to the manager, her name was Angela Webber and she would be expecting him tomorrow at 1 pm. His account would not be placed in a delinquent status just yet. That was a relief.

He sat in front of the piano, ready to replicate what he had heard, ready to finish what he had yet to start and get his money and life back on track. "Okay!" his hands were hovering above the keys just waiting to be stroked. C'mon, inspiration! Edward was ready to play his heart out, and he would have, had he remembered how the song went. It started off with C-sharp. Or maybe it was B-sharp. Edward closed his eyes in an effort to remember and cursed himself all the way to hell for not reacting faster. Was it a D double flat? A triple sharp?

He looked toward the film again and willed his brain to remember the melody, that one perfect melody he had heard before, all he needed was to think of it again so he could go off that and create his own. Problem was he had heard so many jingles before and after that he forgot what it sounded like and could not even begin to play it.

His phone buzzed with a text alert.

 _Let's meet Thursday night, bring what you have so far. –_ Aro

The meeting with Aro had been pushed up. And he was in an ever worse sport than three weeks ago. Edward looked at the text, looked at the piano, looked at the movie playing. Nothing.

He was fucked.

 **Hope you enjoyed, reviews are appreciated :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is all unbeta'd so any mistakes you find throughout are mine. Also, forgot to say this all belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

 _Chapter 2_

Isabella, or Bella as everyone called her was rushing, she didn't hear the alarm and she needed to finish getting dressed and blow dry her hair before work. She was also starving but that wasn't a rare occurrence these days. Because she had a meeting earlier than usual she would not have time to stop at her favorite place and get that bagel and honey almond cream cheese she so wanted. She may have pouted.

Her phone began to ring and she groaned when she saw who it was.

She closed her eyes "Hi, mom"

" _Isabella, darling, I hope I haven't woken you!"_

"You didn't mom, I have a really early meeting today and I was just getting ready"

" _How are you feeling, darling?"_

"I'm doing okay"

" _How's Jacob? Is he there, can I speak to him?"_

Bella closed her eyes. Of course her mom would want to speak to Jacob, what parent wouldn't want to speak to her daughter's long-term, serious boyfriend? They had been together for a year now and were even living together.

Or so Bella's mom, Renée thought.

Truth was, Jacob had been in Bella's life for a brief amount of time, brief but meaningful. She had not heard from him in months, not since she shared her news and he freaked the fuck out and moved out of the state.

"Sure, let me just go get him" Bella set her phone down and looked around. Now what? She went into the bathroom and turned on the water, time to stall... again. She walked back into her room and picked up the phone "He's taking a shower, mom" she said, hoping her mother would hear the water running.

" _Darling, he's not avoiding me, is he?"_

"No mom, he's just in the shower, we both have early meetings today and we have to finish getting ready" Lying to her mom about Jacob's whereabouts had become second nature by now.

" _Well, no matter, tell him I'll see him later"_

At that, Bella's ears perked up. "What do you mean?"

" _I'm in town, darling! Surprise!"_

Bella stopped breathing. "I-I thought you couldn't leave London yet," her mouth was dry.

" _Well, great news! My paperwork came through two weeks ago!"_ Bella considered this news to be a lot of things, _great_ was certainly not one of them. _"So, I figured I would come to see you and help you both with everything. My plane just landed. I'll see you in a few hours, darling. I'm so chuffed!"_

"What?" She was so what?

" _I mean I'm so excited, darling! I can't wait to see you and meet Jacob! It'll be brilliant! I'll meet you at work, we'll have lunch together. I love you, darling"_ Bella could hear the smile in her mother's voice.

" _I love you too, mom"_ She said on autopilot. She ended the call, placed her phone down and looked herself in the mirror.

She was fucked.

 **-PH-**

Edward had a plan. Go into the bank earlier than his 1 pm meeting, ask to borrow a phone and listen to the hold music until he found the one he so desperately needed. Easy peasy.

Well, best laid plans and all…

Edward got a call early in the morning from Tanya, she had forgotten a box of her stuff at his place and wanted it back, she couldn't come pick them up and he did not want to go all the way to the other side of town, nor did he want to see her for that matter. He ended up calling an Uber, it was somewhat of a weird request, just picking up and dropping off a box but they accommodated him. The older man named Billy showed up a little later than Edward would've liked and he even gave him a business card for any future needs, Edward scoffed internally but shoved the card in the back pocket of his pants. Once Tanya's box was in the back of the car, Edward rattled off the address and off the Uber went.

He was pretty sure that was the right address, anyway.

Edward walked the few blocks to the train station. He had all his paperwork in hand, he would have around two hours to try and use someone's phone before his meeting with Mrs. Webber.

Turns out walking into a bank to ask to borrow their phone so you can listen to their hold music is harder than it seems. After being told "sorry, no" by three different people Edward was left standing in the middle of the lobby, he knew he must have looked odd because a few minutes later he saw the biggest man he had ever seen approaching him.

 **-PH-**

If there was one thing Emmett McCarty was good at, that was being in charge of security for the downtown location of Seattle Regional Bank. His hulking size and muscular frame provided just the right amount of intimidation any potential troublemaker would need to deter their plans. Add a loaded gun on his belt and his keen sense of sniffing out trouble and it was no wonder that for the four years he had been working here Emmett had never had a security issue.

And on this day, Emmett's hyperawareness came in handy, he noticed the man as soon as he came in, with his hair the color of a rusty penny and sticking out in every direction it was impossible not to notice him. But weirder than his hair was his demeanor. Emmett saw him going from cubicle to cubicle asking for something, he saw him eyeing the phone and look around. Well, if this person thought they could disturb the peace and quiet Emmett so enjoyed he had another thing coming.

Time to investigate.

When Emmett approached the maybe patron he puffed out his chest and tried to make himself look as big as he could. He could see the puny man gulp.

"Everything okay, sir?"

Edward looked around wildly, he doubted _E. McCarty_ as his nametag read would let him use any phones.

Edward looked toward the wall with all the department names and the people who worked there.

He glanced at his watch, 12 o'clock, there was still some time left. A name stood out among the sea of people. _**Isabella M. Swan, Credit Lending Assistant**_. An idea popped into his head.

Edward cleared his throat and faced the human Hulk. "I'm here to meet with Miss Swan".

 **Only one person reviewed last week which is a bit of a bummer, sorry I couldn't answer but you signed on as a guest, I'm doing okay though, thanks for asking!**

 **If you could let me know how you're liking the story so far I would so appreciate it :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so so much for all your reviews, they mean the world to me. Had it not been nearly a decade since I updated a story I would've replied to all of you but honestly, I forgot how to. Oops :3**

 **As usual, nothing's mine.**

 _Chapter 3_

"I'll tell her he had to fly out, that he went to Hawaii for work. Wait, no, Australia, it's farther"

"You just told her he was at your apartment with you like an hour ago"

"I can say that he had to leave unexpectedly, a bridge was falling down and he had to go fix it"

Alice rolled her eyes, Bella had been freaking out about her mom's impromptu visit all morning, she kept coming up with wild and crazy scenarios that would explain Jacob's absence.

"Why don't you just tell her that you realized you're a lesbian? I could say I'm your girlfriend" she offered cheerfully.

Bella smiled despite herself. "Much as I appreciate the offer I'll pass; my mom would have a heart attack."

Her office phone beeped, Angela, her boss, needed her.

Bella had been working at Seattle Regional for seven years, got the job while she was still in college and worked her way up from part-time teller to credit lending assistant. She was making a steady income, had an office with a view and weekends off. By all means it was the perfect job… if only she had a passion for it.

She had enjoyed learning about so many different things and was grateful for the various opportunities she had received while at the job but she felt stuck, Bella always knew she never wanted to be in banking for a living but trying to appease her mother and father and what they deemed was a respectable career for her, she accepted the job and had been here for so long she had no idea how to do anything else.

Dispelling her thoughts Bella knocked on Angela's door. To no one's shock Angela was hunched over, working on a puzzle. Bella had never met anyone more intrigued by puzzles than Angela Webber, in their time working together Angela had gone through thousands of puzzles, God only knew how she had the patience, and the time to work on those little pieces endlessly.

"You needed me, Angela?"

"Bella! Yes, have a sit, dear, how do you feel?"

"I'm doing okay, thanks for asking"

"Not long now, huh?"

Tight smile, "no"

"So Bella, as you know I'll be retiring at the end of the year, the board asked me if I have anyone in mind to replace me and I mentioned you."

"Angela, I-" Bella was speechless.

"I know you have time off coming up and obviously we'll be amenable to that but as soon as you come back I can start training you to be my replacement, you already know a lot of what I do and it is honestly more formality than anything else, the job is as good as yours."

Bella felt her throat constrict and wrung her hands. Her future was never going to change, was it? She would be here until retirement, stuck in a job she barely tolerated. "Can I have some time to think about it? Things will be changing for me so soon and I honestly can't really focus on anything else right now."

Thankfully Angela understood Bella's position and let her leave the office without much fuss. They would talk about it later, for now Angela still had a puzzle to finish.

 **-PH-**

A knock on the door made Bella jump. Was it her mom?

The door opened to reveal some guy who clearly did not own any combs at home.

"Hi, can I come in? I have a meeting with Mrs. Webber at 1 pm but I just needed a quick favor first"

Before she could react and let the man know he was in the wrong office, he sat down at her desk and started speaking.

"Ms. Swan, my name is Edward Cullen, we spoke a bit ago on the phone"

The name sounded familiar. "Are you the one who asked to be placed on hold?"

"Yes!" Maybe this plan of Edward's wasn't so far-fetched after all.

"Did you get what you needed?" she asked, only half listening to his response.

"No, see the thing is I'm a composer, I score films and I've been commissioned to score a new film and there is one jingle I heard here that is perfect…" the man trailed off.

To say Bella was confused was an understatement. "So, you want to listen to the hold music that plays on my phone?"

"Yes, please, just for a bit"

Bella debated within herself, clearly this guy was crazy but if letting him use her phone was going to get him off her case then so be it, she handed him the receiver and continued on her laptop, she was shopping online for male button up shirts so she could hang them in her closet and throw her mom off, she would have to fork over the extra money for an overnight delivery.

Edward was on tenterhooks, please let this be the right jingle.

A trumpet version of _La Cucaracha_ started playing. He could not catch a break.

Defeated he set the receiver down. "How many different jingles does this building have?"

"A lot"

"But how many would you say?"

"Over 200, there's a different jingle per phone"

Edward's shoulders sagged. "Ms. Swan, would you mind if I just stayed here for a minute and listened to the jingles? I won't even bother you, you won't even know I'm here."

"I work with my phone, I can't have the line busy for that long"

"But what if-"

Bella had had enough. "Mr. Cullen, was it? I am incredibly busy and you have a meeting to get to, if there is nothing banking wise I can help you with then I think we're done here" She called for Alice and had Edward escorted out. Her mom was due any second and she had no clue what she would say.

 **-PH-**

The meeting with Mrs. Webber went better than Edward could've expected, after some hardcore begging and explaining why this time Edward would be able to make the payments on time he was granted an extension, two weeks.

Once he secured the extension he figured he might as well push his luck and ask to use Mrs. Webber's phone. Seattle Regional Bank's motto was "We Are More Than Just a Bank, We Are a Family". Well family help each other out. Unfortunately, that was not the tune he was looking for.

Edward left the office unaccompanied and must've gotten himself turned around some way because he came across a wide room filled with desks, it must be lunch hour because every desk was empty, he turned to leave and look for the exit but then stopped. All these desks were empty, there was no one in sight and so many phones within reach...

He looked to the right, he looked to the left and saw no one. Edward took a step into the room, time to get to work.

 **-PH-**

Renée Dwyer (née Higginbotham) knew that if there was ever a time to come help her youngest daughter this was it, it really was fortuitous timing that her British paperwork came in and she was able to travel outside of England. It's not that Renée was suspicious of Jacob or that she didn't think Bella knew what she was doing but Renée was beginning to think he may not be as involved as her daughter would like her to believe.

Her footsteps echoed down the hall.

She made it all the way to Bella's office and took a second to beam with pride at her daughter's accomplishments. She opened the door without knocking and saw Bella jump about a foot in the air and then go ashen.

"Oh darling! Oh sweetheart, baby let me look at you! Oh, I missed you, darling" Renée's exuberance was not matched. Bella was still shocked into silence, she only minutely thawed out enough to return her mother's hug.

"Oh darling, your office is brilliant! You've done so well, daddy and I are so proud" she smiled for a second as she looked out the window, "shame about the noise though. It's very loud here, isn't it? You know, darling in London all offices have double-paned windows, shocking that the States haven't caught up yet" she tsked.

"Where's your stuff, mom?"

"Well, darling, I know you said your flat is small so I'll be staying with Sue. She's so brilliant, as soon as she heard I was coming she practically insisted I stay with her. I dropped my luggage off at her house before coming here."

Renée sat down on Bella's seat and faced her daughter. "Now, sweetheart, we have to talk about you and Jacob, where is he? When can I meet him?"

Bella somehow found her voice "Yeah, mom.. I was actually gonna talk to you about that, something came up at wo-"

A knock at the door interrupted her.

Bella turned around on her seat and saw Emmett, the security guard dragging none other than Mr. Phone Jingles with him. Now what?

"Ms. Swan, sorry to bother you but this gentleman here says you know him and that you were expecting him"

"Yes, Emmett, he's harmless"

"Are you sure?"

At that, Edward was a bit offended, "she just told you I'm harmless, don't you think she would only say that if she knew me?"

During the kerfuffle no one noticed Renée's eyes narrow.

"Is this Jacob?" she asked her daughter.

Bella turned back toward her mother and opened her mouth to set the record straight but there was something about the expectant and surprised look in her mother's face, almost like she knew Bella had been lying about Jacob and was incredulous to be proven wrong. She looked toward Edward Cullen and something she could not explain came over her.

"Yes, mom, this is Jacob," she smiled broadly "my boyfriend".

 **Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Chapter 4

**In honor of Edward's birthday I decided to update earlier. Thank you so much for your reviews last chapter :)**

 **Not mine.**

 _Chapter 4_

Of all the weird things Edward had experienced on this day, this woman -who honestly had been quite bitchy to him before- introducing him as her _boyfriend_ to an entire roomful of strangers was the most shocking thing so far. He could only blink in confusion.

" _This_ is your boyfriend, Ms. Swan?" Emmett could not have sounded more shocked if he tried.

"Yes, Emmett, this is my boyfriend, Jacob, he came to visit me, thank you for helping him, you can let go of him now" Bella's voice was so high-pitched it sounded like she had inhaled helium.

Grudgingly, Emmett let go of Edward and excused himself to leave the office. Not that it was his place to judge or anything but he thought Ms. Swan could do better.

"FINALLY!" Renée shrieked, "we meet at last. I've waited so long to meet you; this is so exciting!" She jumped off her seat and crushed Edward in a bear hug.

"Um.. hi?" What the fuck was happening?

"Oh you're so handsome, Bella never mentioned how handsome you were, she never showed us any pictures or anything." Renée's joy could not be contained. Jacob existed! "She didn't mention you were a ginger though" she added as an afterthought.

"Mom" Bella groaned.

"It's not a bad thing, darling, I'm just saying" She turned to Edward again and gave him yet another hug. Edward returned it because even though he had no clue what was happening he could never refuse a hug. "Come, let's go have lunch, my treat."

Edward looked in Ms. Swan's direction, this had gone on for too long, he was confused and just did not have the time to join into whatever this little game was. Before he could speak she stood up to face them and it was only then that he noticed for the first time the giant pregnant belly she was sporting.

 **-PH-**

After asking her mom to wait for them downstairs, Bella and Edward were left alone, he needed to know what was going on and she needed him to play along until she could figure something else out.

"Jacob was my boyfriend; we were together for around four months until I got pregnant. I wanted to keep the baby and he didn't want to have anything to do with us. My parents have been living in London for the last three years, I told them we were together for longer just to get them off my back. I caught enough shit for getting pregnant out of wedlock"

"Ms. Swan"

"Bella"

"Bella, I get you're in a tough spot and I wish I could help but don't understand what this has to do with me"

 _Here goes nothing_ , Bella thought "I need you to pretend to be Jacob"

Edward must not have heard her correctly, "what?"

"Just until my mom leaves"

"But she just got here!"

"It would only be for like a ten or fifteen days, I'll figure something else out after that"

Edward ran his hands through his hair, "Look Bella, I wish I could help, I really do but I can't. I have to finish a composition and I haven't even started. I can't come up with anything, I have a meeting with the director in two days and I have nothing to show him. I need this job to be able to get caught back up with my mortgage otherwise _your_ bank will foreclose on my house."

Edward's actions started to make sense to her. "That's what you needed the phone for, to find the right song and get some inspiration" she surmised.

Edward looked at her and nodded.

"I can help you with that, you don't even have to be here, you can call me and I can transfer you to all the extensions until you find the song you're looking for"

Bella could see Edward was doubtful so she decided on another tactic: intimidation. "Look Edward, you can either help me or I can call Emmett back up her and tell him you were trying to stage a robbery and you were holding my mom and me hostage"

"What the fuck?!" If Edward wore pearls he would've clutched them.

"Your choice" She waited while he glared at her. "Look, I can help you get what you need and you can help me get my mom off my back, I'll tell her the truth eventually"

Edward snorted, "when, at our wedding?"

It was Bella's turn to glare. "Do you know how easy it would be for me to accuse you of something illegal? I have your name, your address, your social security number…"

Edward blanched. "You're evil"

"No, I'm desperate. Just give me a week, after that I swear I'll leave you alone."

Edward thought it through, she really hadn't left him much choice, had she? "And you're sure you can help me find the right jingle?"

"Positive"

He thought about how much was riding on this job and it seemed like this would be the only way to find that damn music and get his inspiration back. "Okay I'll do it but I'll only do it for 24 hours and you have to promise you'll help me find the jingle"

"Perfect. I'll tell my mom Jacob had to fly out of the country after that" Hands were shaken; a pact was made.

And now, lunchtime.

 **-PH-**

After deciding on a sandwich shop near Bella's work, Edward made his way to the bathroom, he wasn't ready to deal with whatever craziness was coming his way just yet. After splashing some water on his face and trying in vain to tame his hair he joined his lunch companions.

"Don't say anything, Bella already told me" Renée said.

Edward smiled as he looked at Bella "You told her already?" Sweet! The plan was off.

"Yes, I told her you'd have to travel for work tomorrow"

Never mind.

Renée leveled Edward with a disapproving look. "I really don't think you should be missing your baby's birth. You should've asked for time off."

"He can't get any time off at work, mom" interjected Bella.

"I'm a freelancer, I have to go where the job is, you know" Bella looked impressed at Edward's quick thinking.

"You know, darling, in England they have paid parental leave, all of Europe does. I just don't understand the States…"

Bella let her mother ramble about what made England so much better than the U.S. for a few minutes while she tried to enjoy the last of her meal, she was always so hungry these days. When she could no longer tune her out she stopped her. "Mom, I have to get back to work. How will you be getting to Sue's house?"

"Could I use your car, darling? Edward can drop me off"

In a nanosecond Bella's face went from ivory to such a fiery red Renée was reminded of those charming English telephone booths she loved so much.

"I'm not… I don't have my car with me" Bella managed to get out while staring at the ground. She really wished her audience would understand what she meant but unfortunately for her when she looked up they both seemed utterly confused. She sighed and cradled her bump. "I have a Mini Cooper," she offered as explanation.

Renée looked at her daughter with such tenderness she almost teared up. She remembered the days before she gave birth when she felt bigger than a house and how uncomfortable she was. She doubted Bella would want to commiserate over the highs and lows of pregnancy. Renée placed a comforting hand on Bella's tummy. "You look beautiful, darling. Doesn't she look beautiful, Jacob?" she asked.

Edward didn't respond.

"Jacob?"

Two sets of eyes looked his way, Edward suddenly remembered who he was supposed to be.

"Uh yeah. Yes." Renée looked like she wanted to kill him for not agreeing faster. He cleared his throat. "Gorgeous"

The older woman smiled. "I can take a cab, Bella."

Suddenly, Edward remembered the card in his pocket. "Wait, don't take a cab. I know someone who can come and get you" Billy, the Uber driver had really been onto something by handing out his business cards.

 **-PH-**

Renée was happy to finally meet the man who was so important to her daughter but there was something about him she didn't quite trust. He seemed a little uncomfortable and like he wasn't quite sure what was happening around him.

Bella picked up on her mother's behavior, she could tell that Renée suspected something. In an effort to keep the charade up she clasped Edward's hand, he startled for a second. Edward looked at Bella, her eyes begging him to play along.

Renée watched the young couple interact with shrewd eyes. Inspiration struck. "Darling, let's have dinner at your flat tonight"

"Mom, I would prefer to eat out. I didn't know you were coming and I haven't gotten a chance to go grocery shopping"

"Oh baby, don't worry. I brought lots of stuff with me so you can try"

"I really would rather eat outside, mom" Bella insisted. "There's lots of places we can go"

"Bella, darling I travelled all this way to see you, to see where you and Jacob live. At the very least I would like to see my grandchild's nursery!" She looked at Edward for support. "Doesn't that make sense?"

Edward had to agree. "It does" It did.

He could feel Bella's grip tighten.

"It's settled then; I'll see you tonight at 8 pm at your place" She smiled.

Bella glanced at her watch, she really had to get back. "Mom, I really have to go, will you be okay waiting for your Uber here?"

"I'll be fine, darling"

Bella and Edward said their goodbyes and took off hand-in-hand toward Bella's office. As soon as they rounded the corner and Bella was sure her mother was out of sight she let go of Edward's hand like it was burning her. "Why did you have to agree with her?" She asked, annoyed. "Your hands are clammy," she mentioned as she fetched a pocket sized sanitizer from her purse.

Edward just rolled his eyes. "Look, I did my part, now you do yours" He was wasting precious time by arguing with her.

"Fine, whatever. When you get home just call me at work, you have the bank number, my extension is-"

"666?" Edward guessed.

Bella glared at him "1918" she spat and turned to get back to her office.

 **Well, they're not quite best friends, huh? Hope you enjoyed :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! Thank you so much to the people who reviewed last chapter and thanks to everyone who's following this story, I hope you're enjoying it. If it wasn't clear last chapter, Bella isn't driving her car because her belly is too big to fit comfortably in her Mini Cooper XD**

 **Not mine.**

 _Chapter 5_

Edward was just walking into his home when his phone rang, he picked up without looking at the screen.

"Bella?"

" _No, it's Tanya"_

"Oh. What do you want?"

" _Well, hello to you too, darling"_

"What is it Tanya?"

" _Who's Bella? Your girlfriend?"_

"Uh huh, yup. She's 10 years younger than me and she laughs at all my jokes"

" _Well, that's awesome, you should marry her"_

"Did you call for a reason?"

" _I didn't get the box"_

"What do you mean, I sent it with an Uber"

" _Well, nothing came here and I really need it"_

"Fine, I'll call customer service and ask them to send it again, what's the address?"

" _I already gave it to you"_

"Well, I lost it"

She rattled off the address again. Edward tried to remember if he had given Billy the address right in the beginning, most likely not since the box didn't make it to its destination but he would rather chop off his left nut than admit to Tanya of all people that he had done something wrong.

 **-PH-**

"So what are you gonna do?" Alice was so excited she was practically salivating. When Bella told her what she had done she sat down and asked her to recount every single detail. This was way better than manning the phones.

"I don't know, my mom's coming over tonight for dinner though"

"You should ask him to bring some of his stuff over so it looks like you do live together" Bella hadn't thought of that, it made sense. She would ask Edward to do so when they spoke next, he still hadn't called.

"He's cute" Alice offered. "Like, really cute. You have to tell me when you check for quality control" she winked.

"Alice, there won't be any quality control check" Bella stated.

"Oh c'mon Bella, you're so-"

"Knocked up"

"No, closed off" Alice corrected. "He seems like a nice guy, plus he has a great ass" she smiled.

In truth, Bella had to agree, she would have to be blind not to see how attractive Edward Cullen was, lion's mane notwithstanding. But the truth of the matter was Bella was due to give birth to another man's child in less than a month. Her life was about to change so drastically it made her head spin. She knew for the foreseeable future the only man in her life would be her son.

Plus, Edward Cullen kind of annoyed the shit out of her.

The ringing of her office phone took her out of her reverie, Alice left her office. "Thank you for calling Seattle Regional, this is Isabella Swan in credit lending, how may I help you?"

" _Hey, it's me. Your husband"_

She snorted "You wish"

" _Alright, let's get this started, put me on hold"_

"Wait, before we start, I need you to bring some stuff to my place so my mom can see your things there. Grab a pen and some paper," he didn't "bring pictures, underwear, and shirts. Think of an acronym so you can remember them." Bella was used to acronyms, in banking everything got shortened. "Think of" she looked at the words in front of her "PUSH: pictures, underwear and shirts"

" _And the H?"_

"Home decorations, whatever else you can think of"

" _Okay fine, can we get started?"_

"Did you write it all down?

" _Yes, Bella c'mon I have limited time"_

"Okay, fine, but please don't forget anything" After mumbling he wouldn't she placed him on hold and picked up after a few seconds, "was that it?" he let her know that was not the right jingle. One down, 247 to go.

 **-PH-**

Angela had been trying to speak to Bella all afternoon to see if she had given any thought to her proposal but every time she tried her extension the line was busy. That was one of the things Angela liked most about Bella, she was such a hard worker.

She tried Bella's line one more time and again found it busy, oh well, she would ask her when she saw her.

 **-PH-**

"Was that it?" Bella asked, she hoped it was because she didn't know how much longer she could do this, they had been doing this for hours and weren't even halfway through yet as she was forced to hang up every time an appointment came in. She was tired and her finger hurt from dialing all these damn numbers. What kind of composer couldn't get inspired anyway?

" _No, try the next one"_

She was just about to place him on hold again when she heard her name being called and hung up in a hurry. Alice was poking her head at her door.

They would have to start again "Ugh, Alice you startled me"

"Sorry. Angela was looking for you though, she said she called you but your phone was busy all afternoon. Y'know it'd be faster if he just came here to do it"

"What do you mean?"

Eager to impart some knowledge, Alice sat down "All of the jingles for the bank are stored in the main K-Drive, all you have to do is press this little yellow button, put your officer code in and with the up and down arrows you can listen to all of them one by one, I do it all the time to change the hold music for my extension, there's some good songs in there"

Huh. That did sound much better than what they were currently having to do. She glanced at the wall clock and was shocked to see the time, the bank would be closing in 10 minutes. She would have to mention it to Edward later. No point in calling him again right now.

Bella thanked Alice for the tip and studiously ignored the devilish glint in her eyes when she asked her if she too, could come over for dinner.

 **-PH-**

"Hi, yes, my name is Edward Cullen. I asked for a package to be delivered earlier today and it never arrived"

Edward was talking to Uber customer service and was told that the address he had provided was wrong so his box had been brought back to the office, after asking him if he would like to send it to a different address he said yes and rattled off Bella's address, they would deliver it as soon as they could. He would just bite the bullet and give Tanya the damn box himself. What the hell was in there that was so important anyway?

Bella had given him a lightning fast tour when he got to her house, luckily her two-bedroom apartment wasn't very big and had an uncomplicated layout, so long as her mother didn't ask him to give her the tour himself and he showed her to the coat closet instead of the guest bathroom they should be just fine.

She was frantically moving around, taking things out of his overnight bag like a woman on a mission and asking him questions about himself to try and get to know him. She admitted to him that she had been a huge fan of _Midnight Sun_ and was delighted to discovered he had worked on the music for it. After hanging up his shirts and shoving his boxers in a drawer she moved on to his toiletries, he remembered the "home decorations". He brought over some of his CDs and his iPod, it was old but filled with some of his favorite pieces of music, along with some songs that he had written himself, he took the wireless Beats headphones he was wearing from around his neck and laid both items down on her nightstand.

"Okay, okay everything is put away, are we missing anything?" Bella asked almost breathlessly.

"How'd we meet?"

"At a Starbucks, we both ordered the same thing and you took my drink by mistake, we got to talking afterwards and we hit things off"

"That's the oldest trick in the book" Jacob was lame.

"Well, it worked with me, I didn't know it"

"Did we have sex that same day?"

"My mother is _not_ going to ask you that!" Bella said scandalized.

"Yeah, but did we or didn't we?"

"No comment," she blushed.

"We did" Edward smirked. He was quite enjoying the sight of a flustered Ms. Swan.

"Moving _on_. My parents moved to London three years ago after my sister Kate married an English guy, his name is Garrett. My father and Garrett are both lawyers and Garrett found him a position over there that was too good to pass up. Their paperwork took forever to pull through though, that's why I didn't think my mom would come now. My father's name is Charlie, my mother's name is Renée, my sister Kate is older than me, she's been living in London for five years. My parents are originally from a small town north of here named Forks, they still have a house there but lived the majority of their adult life in Seattle. We lived in Arizona and Florida for a few years before settling down here." Edward's head was spinning; he had not caught a single thing she said.

"I'm never gonna be able to remember all that" he griped.

"I know, I know," Bella fretted "just smile and nod. Don't eat with your mouth open, don't place your elbows on the table and please do not mention-"

The doorbell rang and Bella seemed to forget she had been speaking to Edward.

Her veins were icy cold as she waddled toward the door.

Showtime.

 **-PH-**

"Oh how charming, it's much better than the flat you had right after college but have you considered a better neighborhood, darling? You know Windmere and Westlake are much better options to raise a family in, lots of parks nearby, the houses are bigger too."

"We like it here" Bella muttered, it was always something with her mom.

"Well, maybe in the future then. Show me the baby's room!" She clapped excitedly.

Bella turned on her heel to lead them, her mother commented on the hallway decorations and Edward just walked behind her, aside from saying hello to Renée he had not spoken another word, it felt so weird to Bella to be sharing something so private with a complete stranger. No one but herself had seen her child's nursery.

When Bella first found out about her pregnancy she knew before even speaking to Jacob that she would be doing this on her own, she hadn't expected him to relocate to the other side of the country and sign away his parental rights as soon as he could but she knew they wouldn't be raising this child as a couple. They were by no means in love, they had a fun time together and she felt comfortable enough to be intimate with him, she had been on the pill so the baby was quite the surprise. Mainly for Bella it felt nice not to be alone.

She had only ever been in two relationships before: Jasper, her college sweetheart and the taker of her virginity and Jacob, the giant fucking dumbass who picked up women at Starbucks and impregnated them and left them alone to sort out the mess.

Bella had gotten over Jacob abandoning her… for the most part.

Anyway, she could love her baby enough for two parents, he wouldn't even need a father.

Her own parents coming to accept that however was a different story.

"It's… cute. Animal themed, huh?" Renée asked, not quite trying so hard to hide her displeasure.

Bella closed her eyes to rein in her frustration.

Edward was beginning to understand why Bella held off on telling her mother about Jacob leaving for as long as she had, having spent just a short amount of time with the woman he had grown quite tired of her constant criticism, he had no doubt she loved her daughter dearly and was sure she meant her observations as positives but he really wished she would stop. Edward could tell Bella had spent a fair amount of time decorating her child's nursery, the walls were painted in a pale yellow, there was a cherry wood crib against the wall, behind it was a mural of a tree with different little jungle animals hanging from the branches. Stuffed animals were scattered around, a rocking chair and changing table were on the other side. A bookcase was against the other wall, in the middle of it was a small frame holding an ultrasound picture.

Shocking the hell out of himself but unable to stop, Edward stepped further into the room and stopped right behind Bella. "Play along," he whispered into her ear as he snaked his arms around her bump, he felt her sharp intake of breath. "We went with an animal theme because the baby moves a lot, we jokingly started calling it little monkey and it kinda stuck" he offered with a half-smile.

As if to prove his point, the baby began to kick against his hand. Edward had never touched a pregnant belly before, he had no children of his own or siblings who may have given him nieces or nephews. He had always kind of been afraid of pregnancy but he had to admit the feeling of Bella's baby moving beneath his palm was kind of fascinating to him.

Renée seemed mollified as she turned around and looked inside the baby's closet.

Bella spun around slowly to face Edward, she wasn't sure what to feel. Aside from herself, the medical staff at her check-ups, and her mother during lunch no one had touched her belly and though the feeling of his hands on her was foreign she was surprised to find it wasn't necessarily unpleasant. "Thank you" she whispered to him.

"You're welcome" he answered, his arms resting on the low of her back.

"Darling? Sweetheart?" Bella snapped back to reality and stepped away from Edward's embrace to face her mom. "You two ready for dinner? You'll love what I brought! And I have a photo album so we can go through it afterwards but first I want to see photos of you two!"

Suddenly Edward remembered something: PUSH. _Think of P for pictures_.

He forgot about the pictures.

His panicked eyes met Bella's "Shit! I forgot the pictures at my house"

Renée narrowed her eyes, "what do you mean, _your_ house?"

 **Hope you enjoyed, would really appreciate if you let me know what you think :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you so so much for your reviews and alerts. They make me happy :)**

 **Not mine.**

 _Chapter 6_

Bella cursed internally.

"I mean the recording studio, because I spend so much time in there that it feels like a house too, you know?" Edward said with what Bella had come to recognize as his trademark half-smile.

Bella cursed outwardly.

Her mother's narrowed eyes shifted from Edward to herself. "I thought you said he was an engineer"

"He's a sound engineer. He remixes, equalizes, records. That kind of thing, he has a studio. Oh, he scored the music for _Midnight Sun_! You remember that movie, the one with the vampire?"

Her mother looked confused.

"The one where they go to the meadow, remember?" Bella said as she led them out of the nursery and toward the dinner table. To no one's surprise, she was starving.

Like Bella, Renée had loved that movie. She all but forgot about her initial distrust as she barraged Edward with all sorts of questions about his line of work. She was disappointed to learn he couldn't introduce her to any movie stars or even give her any numbers of some just to say hi.

"You know, you'd do very well in England, they shoot a lot over there. Do you have a British passport?"

"I don't" he answered. Then looked toward Bella to verify, he didn't but what if Jacob did? "Do I?"

"You don't" she confirmed.

"I don't"

"You love what you do, Jacob?"

"I do; it gets challenging sometimes but I wouldn't trade it for anything" Edward answered honestly. When he was able to get inspired, he absolutely loved what he did.

"That's great, you should love what you do" Renée smiled.

Before she knew what she was saying Bella spoke "You never said that to me"

"Because you always did what you wanted"

"That's not true, mom. You know that's not true" Bella's life had always been regimented, she did what her parents expected her to. Her sister Kate was a "free spirit", she had stopped her studies after graduating high school and chose instead to travel the world with a backpack. Bella often wished she could be as adventurous as her older sister but had never quite found enough courage.

She was terrified of failure.

"Darling, you always reached your goals. Always. You always achieved what you put your mind to, daddy and I never had any worries with you like we did with your sister" Renée rolled her eyes and looked at Edward. "Bella's sister was always so stubborn, never ever listened to her dad or myself. She had an issue with authority. That's why we were so surprised when she decided to get married, and to a lawyer of all things. Never would've thought so, he's been great to her. We thought for sure she would never settle. Bella, on the other hand always listened to us. We knew what was best for her"

"Mom, stop please" Bella could not continue listening to her mother, she had always felt trapped in her own body. She always listened to her parents because she had never found a voice of her own.

"Fine," she acquiesced. "What time is your flight tomorrow?" she asked Edward.

"At… um, 4 o'clock" he said, picking a time at random.

"Perfect! So you can come!"

"Where?"

"To the doctor's, Bella has an ultrasound tomorrow. You didn't know?" Renée's voice was no longer friendly.

"Of course he knew, mom. But he can't go" Bella said as she began clearing the table.

"Yeah, I have to work" Edward offered as explanation. He much preferred the Renée from a few minutes ago that liked him. This Renée scared him a bit.

"I think you should go," she stated

"Don't tell him what to do, mom" Bella's voice was strained.

"I'm doing it for you, darling"

"I can handle it myself"

"I just want what's best for you, darling"

"Well, you don't always know what's best, mom. Trust me on that" Bella spat. "Excuse me," she said as she made her way to her room. She was not in the mood to argue with her mother or put up with either her endless criticism or her impossibly high standards.

Edward and Renée looked at each other, one shell-shocked, the other annoyed.

"Hormones" he offered as explanation.

 **-PH-**

"I just don't understand her; all I want is for her to be happy. Her father and I, we're so proud of her, always have been" she could not make heads or tails of her daughter's behavior at dinner.

Edward and Renée were doing the dishes. After an uncomfortable silence when Bella stormed off they decided they may as well finish clearing everything. She was wearing the dishwashing rubber gloves she had bought Bella from Tesco because she knew the younger woman wouldn't have any and it was high time she started using them. Skin care was vital.

"Have you ever thought of telling her that?" he inquired as he dried.

"I have!"

"Have you ever thought of telling her _only_ that?" Edward hoped Renée understood what he meant, that maybe all Bella needed to hear right now was that she was loved and things would be okay and not any of the myriad of things her mother thought she should improve on.

Renée stopped to consider his words. "You know, you're a good lad. When I first met you I thought my daughter banked a proper tosser but you seem to have a good head on your shoulders"

"Uh.. thanks?" There was a compliment in there somewhere.

"So have you thought about names?" Renée asked.

"Names?"

"For the baby"

"Oh uh…" shit, what was Bella having again? "Irina?" Edward guessed.

"But it's a boy" she said dismayed.

"No, I meant my cousin Irina suggested Laurent as a name"

"Hmm, no I don't like it"

"Yeah, no me neither," he agreed "Edward?" he tried again.

"Ugh, no. Sounds like an old man's"

"I like it" he whispered.

The intercom rang out. "Are you waiting on anyone?" Renée asked before picking up. Edward shook his head. "Hello? No, it's not here. No there's no one here by that name. No worries, have a good night" she hung up. "It was Uber, they said they had a package for a Mr. Cullen".

Edward suppressed a groan, he had completely forgotten he had provided them with Bella's address.

"Ugh, US currier services," Renée added "they leave a lot to be desired".

In that moment, Edward's desire was to bang his head against the wall.

 **-PH-**

Bella was breathing in and out like they had taught her in Lamaze class. She wasn't sure what took over her at dinner, maybe it was the stress of dealing with her mother, the fact that she was due to become a mother herself so soon or the fact that things with Edward had gotten so messed up and turned around.

In through the nose.

Out through the mouth.

She had gone to her room and changed into the pair of most comfortable PJs she owned that still fit, she was sitting cross-legged on her bed and was trying and failing to calm her nerves and her baby, he had begun moving so much it was actually painful and it scared her.

A knock on the door took her mind away from the pain for just a second. Edward's head peeked into her room, his disheveled hair looking like it wanted to escape his scalp. "You okay?" he asked.

Any other time Bella would've lied and said she was fine, this time she couldn't. After shaking her head, he came in, she was still desperately trying to soothe her child, her breathing was labored. "He's moving a lot, I don't know what to do, he's never moved this much before". Edward walked into the room and picked up his Beats and iPod from her nightstand. He stretched the headphones around her belly and searched for the song that always helped to calm his nerves.

Bella was kind of fascinated by Edward and how calm and collected he seemed while she was freaking the fuck out. His long deft fingers were fiddling with his iPod and he sat down on her bed as the music began to play. It wasn't something she recognized but she instantly felt more at ease. She closed her eyes.

"This is such a lovely piece, is it yours?"

"No. It's Debussy, it's called Clair de Lune"

After the disaster that was dinner and witnessing her mother's incessant nagging Edward started feeling almost protective of Bella. There was something about her that just drew him to her. With her long mahogany hair, a heart shaped face and full lips there was no denying she was attractive. Edward had been quite taken by Ms. Swan upon first meeting her.

And then things hand gone to Hell in a handbasket.

Edward was sitting on Bella's bed trying not to be too obvious in his gawking, her breathing had evened out, her hands had stopped rubbing frantically on her stomach and were now just cradling her bump. He was fighting the urge to reach out and add his hand to the mix.

"He's calming down" Bella said quietly, slowly opening her eyes a few minutes later.

"Good," he said "is he still moving?"

"A little," there was clear adoration in her voice, despite everything, the one thing Bella would never regret was going through with her pregnancy "he's kicking"

"He is?" Edward asked a bit too eagerly.

Bella looked at him. "Do you want to feel?" He nodded and scooted closer to her, she reached for his hand and placed it where she was feeling her little guy kick. For as little as they knew about each other Bella and Edward were beginning to feel quite comfortable around one another, the feeling of his hand on her no longer felt foreign, instead it made her feel safe and protected. And he was enjoying touching her more than he would care to admit.

They didn't really want to focus on the why behind that.

Edward felt the baby kick for a few minutes until he suddenly stopped. "He probably fell asleep" Bella offered as explanation when she saw his confused face. "Oh," he said as he took his hand from her belly.

Their eyes met.

"You forgot the pictures" she smiled.

"You forgot to tell me I was an engineer" he smiled back.

A giggle escaped her.

"Your mother said she thought I was a proper tosser when she first met me, what's that mean?"

Bella rolled her eyes "My mother likes to pretend she was born and raised in London, she's always using British slang"

"What's it mean, though?"

She blushed and looked down, part of her hair fell over her face, effectively hiding her from Edward.

Curious as to what could cause this reaction Edward tucked her hair behind her ear, her blush deepened as their eyes met again "Is it that bad?" he persisted. He slowly traced his hand down the apple of her cheek and his eyes had found her lips.

"It doesn't apply to you" she answered breathlessly.

"Good" he said, whatever the word meant he was glad that Bella wouldn't use it to describe him. He moved ever closer to her, his intentions clear. He saw her eyes close.

They moved closer.

Closer.

Closer.

Just before their lips could touch a knock on the door made them jerk back, effectively killing the moment and putting a stop to whatever may have happened.

Renée walked into the room. "Bella, darling I'm leaving. We put everything away so you don't have to worry about cleaning up. I'm taking a set of keys with me"

Bella was sure she looked a fright. "They can just let you in downstairs, mom"

"I'm taking it anyway, it's faster like this" she said as she came into the room to give her daughter a hug and bid her goodbyes.

Once they heard the door close Edward stood up to leave, he still had work to do and even less time to do it in. He agreed to meet her at her office in the morning so he could use her phone.

"Edward" Bella called as he was just about to leave her room.

He turned. "Thank you" she said sincerely.

"You're welcome" he smiled before wishing her goodnight.

 **-PH-**

Bella was lying awake in her bed, tonight had not gone how she expected. She could not stop wondering what would've happened if her mom hadn't interrupted them.

She wished she hadn't.

Deciding she needed something to help her sleep Bella took out her phone and went on YouTube, after finding what she was looking for she relaxed back into her bed.

The music from _Midnight Sun_ began to play.

She had absolutely loved the movie, but now she had a newfound appreciation for its soundtrack.

 **Well, well, well... Things are happening now. Lemme know what you thought if you can :)**

 **Tosser = Douchebag**


	7. Chapter 7

**Totally meant to get this out sooner, sorry! Thank you for all the love :)**

 **Not mine.**

 _Chapter 7_

Edward walked into Seattle Regional with a bouquet of coral roses in hand. He lifted them up as explanation of his being there when he saw Emmett look at him as he entered. He quite enjoyed being able to come in with no problems or questions as he took the elevator.

He said hello to Alice on his way to Bella's office. The petite woman gave him an enthusiastic wave.

He knocked on Bella's open office door, she looked up and smiled. "A rose for another rose" he said in an overly dramatic voice.

Bella rolled her eyes but couldn't quite contain her smile, "that's so corny" she said as she accepted the bouquet from him and set them down on her desk, she'd find vase later.

"I'm just trying to be more like Jacob" he smiled.

She laughed wholeheartedly, "you're on your way".

After entering her officer code Bella taught Edward how to listen to the jingles on her phone. He had a pen and a pad of paper ready, she let him know that if he hung up he'd have to start from scratch.

"What about your boss?" He asked before starting, the last thing he needed was Mrs. Webber asking difficult questions.

"Don't worry about her" Bella answered as she picked up a 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of Van Gogh's Starry Night and headed for Angela's office.

That should buy them more than enough time.

 **-PH-**

Alice Brandon would admit to being many things. She would admit to being short as she was only 4'11", she would admit to being exuberant and she would even admit to being a shopaholic but she would never admit to being a gossip. She was just… communicative. She couldn't help it that things happened around here that were much more interesting than answering the phones or dealing with spreadsheets.

For instance, Sam Uley and Emily Young? Totally knocked boots in the copy room. Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley? Off again. Leah Clearwater? Well if we were to believe the rumors, one Embry Call from the bank across the street was the new object of her affection. But nothing had provided Alice as much joy as the last two days had seeing Bella deal with her situation. Bella had always been a little too quiet for Alice's liking, she came into work, she worked, she left, she wasn't rude or mean but she was kind of standoffish. Lately though, she was running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Alice watched as Bella walked out of her office with a package and left Edward inside. She waited until Bella was further down the hall to go into her office, it was about time she properly met the enigmatic Mr. Cullen.

 **-PH-**

Edward had to admit this method was much faster than waiting on hold. He was keeping tally of the jingles he'd heard already and simply pressed the up arrow to move onto the next one.

A knock on the door made him slam the phone down.

"Hi!" said the little sprite of a woman.

"Um, hey… I was just waiting for Ms. Swan" he offered as explanation.

"Oh, don't worry. I know all about you and Bella. I'm Alice, the secretary. Found the jingle yet?" The glint in her eye was undeniable.

Edward picked the receiver back up and stopped, realizing he needed an officer code and he didn't know Bella's. Understanding his predicament Alice came up next to him and entered hers. He thanked her and began skipping through the tunes. "Not yet"

"So, you work in films, huh?" Alice asked.

"Yup" he answered as he did his best to listen to the jingles.

"Know any movie stars?"

Edward suppressed his groan. "Some," he answered.

"Well, maybe you and I could go out for dinner one day and you can tell me more about that," she batted her eyes in a coquettish manner.

Before he could react, Bella walked back into her office and cleared her throat. "The phones are ringing Alice" she said icily.

The short woman left the office with a smirk.

Bella took her seat, her previous good mood completely gone now.

"Nice girl," said Edward offhandedly. She had been a bit weird, but she seemed kinda cool. With her short stature and a platinum-blonde hairdo she looked a bit like a fairy. Almost like a human Tinkerbell.

"Uh huh, the best," Bella agreed in a clipped voice.

Something in the way she answered made Edward look up, she had busied herself with her computer and was typing away furiously. She looked like she had sucked on a lemon.

A Cheshire grin was forming slowly on his face. "Bella," he waited until she actually met his eyes "are you jealous?" he asked barely holding in his laughter.

She snorted and rolled her eyes for good measure. "Of course not," she answered hoping like Hell he wouldn't see through her lie. She _was_ jealous, she just knew she couldn't admit to it because she had no reason to be. Edward may be pretending to be her boyfriend, but it didn't mean he actually was.

"Don't worry," he said after taming his smile "I prefer brunettes"

And then he winked.

 **-PH-**

Angela was beginning to think something may be wrong with the phone lines. She kept trying Bella's extension but every time she had tried her it'd been busy.

It'd been a few hours since Bella had surprised her with a magnificent gift, she just wanted to let her know that she'd be leaving earlier today, and she wouldn't come back after lunch. She couldn't wait to get home and start working on that puzzle.

Angela tried Bella's extension one more time, busy again. She would call I.T. and get it figured out. Making sure to have her keys on her, Angela locked her door and made her way to Bella's office.

 **-PH-**

Edward had made a huge leap on the list, he had only hung up once when Alice had startled him and one other time when Bella really needed to speak to a customer, the good thing was that the jingles played in order and so it was easy to just skip the number of songs he had already listened to so he could get to the ones he hadn't yet. He had already listened to 187 jingles, not many more to go, he was beginning to get excited. He was really close to finding that piece he so desperately needed.

As he listened to yet another tune that was not the one he needed Edward felt the receiver being yanked from his hand as the phone was slammed down, he looked up in surprise and saw Bella looking toward her office door and he saw her boss, Mrs. Webber approaching. He turned in his seat and looked the other way, his had came up to cover his face so as not to be seen.

"Hey Bella," greeted Angela "have you been on the phone all day?"

"No, not at all" she answered, acting every bit the confused worker.

"That's so weird," she said "every time I try calling you the line sounds busy"

"That _is_ weird," Bella said gravely "must be a system issue"

"Yeah, most likely" Angela then took notice of the fact that there was someone in Bella's office and as he looked more closely she realize she recognized the patron. "Mr. Cullen?" She called. "I'm sorry, did we have an appointment set up?" She didn't recall having a meeting with him today.

Edward looked at Angela hoping he didn't look as guilty as he felt.

"Mr. Cullen was here because he's able to bring his account current, he was just inquiring about the best ways to make his payments" Bella lied with ease.

Angela wasn't quite able to hide her shock "Oh! That's great! And you told him, right?"

"Yes, of course"

Realizing there was no way he could keep using her phone with Angela present Bella had to dismiss Edward. "Thank you, Mr. Cullen, enjoy the rest of your day" she said, hoping he would understand.

"Oh, uh yes, thank you" he said as he stood up, he saw the bouquet of roses he had brought Bella and took them in his hand, Angela knew who Edward was so there was no reason for him to pretend to be Jacob and get Bella flowers. He was disappointed, he really liked their meaning and God only knew when he would see her again since Jacob was supposed to fly out of the country later that day, effectively ending that part of their deal. Edward walked out of her office saddened by this fact as he waited for the elevator.

"You know," Angela said when she and Bella were alone again "my gut failed me. I thought for sure he wouldn't pay"

 **-PH-**

Edward had just stepped foot outside the bank when he came face to face with Renée. Of course, Bella's ultrasound.

"I knew you wouldn't fail me!" She exclaimed as she hugged him and kissed both his cheeks.

"It's important that I be there. For Bella and the baby's sake" he nodded.

"Of course, darling. I couldn't agree more. Let's go get Bella, my Uber's waiting"

 **-PH-**

It shouldn't have been a surprise to Edward but it was. Renée's Uber driver was non-other than Billy. Apparently, she really liked that he had business cards and had used him a few times since Edward had given her his contact information.

He was sitting in the back seat, the bouquet of coral roses covering his face and crouching down as much as he could, which was proving rather difficult giving his 6'4" frame. Billy kept giving him surreptitious glances through the rearview mirror and Edward could tell he was trying to remember him. He did his best to look out away.

"Don't I know you?" Billy asked after a few more glances.

"No, sir" Edward answered behind the roses.

"I never forget a face. Didn't I pick up a package for you? I picked it up over at Burien, right? I took it to the address you gave me but it was the wrong one, no one named Tanya lives there. I took it back to the office"

At the mention of another woman's name Renée's ears perked up. Who was this 'Tanya' that Jacob was sending packages to?

"No, no I don't live in Burien and I don't know anyone named Tanya, I have a very standard face, you must be thinking of someone else" he rushed out.

"What is your name? I know it, what is it?" Billy said to himself.

Bella was sitting in the back of the Uber wishing to high Hell that this man would shut the fuck up before he ruined everything. Her mom already had her suspicions about 'Jacob' and this confusion was certainly not bound to help. Plus, she was about to pee her pants. She thanked her lucky stars when she saw the hospital come into view "We're here!" she yelled, effectively ending Billy's trip down memory lane.

"Oh my God, please move, I have to pee!" she urged Edward when the car finally parked. He exited and helped first Bella, then her mother out the Uber. He was just turning to follow them to the hospital when Billy rolled down the door "Edward Cullen!" he exclaimed, having finally remembered who he was. "Your name is Edward Cullen, don't tell me it's not, my memory's great"

Edward had no choice but to agree. "You know, now that you mention it, you're right. I did send a package with you but I forgot"

"You forgot your own name and where you live?" ask Billy, unimpressed that his near photographic memory had been questioned.

"Well no, but there's so much fraud and identity theft these days, you can't just go through life giving everyone your personal information," that was as good an explanation as any.

Billy nodded, that made sense.

After agreeing that Edward would reach out to the office and arrange for his package to be delivered to his house again, the older man drove off.

 **-PH-**

Bella splashed some water on her face after reliving herself. Pretending that a stranger was your boyfriend was harder than she imagined. Dealing with developing feelings for said stranger was even harder.

She was a rational woman but something about this whole situation had thrown everything she knew out of whack. There was something about Edward Cullen that try as she might, she couldn't resist. After Angela left her office Alice barged in demanding to know if the roses Edward had taken with him were supposed to be for her and did she know the meaning of coral roses.

 _Enthusiasm and desire_. The rose you gave to someone you were excited to get to know.

The only question was, was Edward aware of that? And if so, did he mean it?

Feeling a small kick in her abdomen Bella decided that she'd have to worry about that later, for now, she had a date with her little man.

 **-PH-**

"You're here for an ultrasound, right? Just a regular check-up" verified the nurse as she looked up Bella's name.

"Yes, but my OBGYN said that she would be there as well"

"Who's your doctor?"

"Tanya Denali"

Edward slammed his hand on the counter, shock evident in his face, "Tanya?" he asked.

Bella, Renée and the nice nurse Mrs. Cope all looked at him like he had grown another head.

"What's wrong?" asked Renée narrowing her eyes.

Edward cleared his throat "Nothing, nothing. Just, uh… if the baby had been a girl that would've been a nice name. I have to go to the bathroom, excuse me" he said as he fled the room.

 **-PH-**

"Is everything okay with you and Jacob, darling?" asked Renée as they took a seat waiting for Bella's name to be called.

"Yes, why?"

"He acted very weird just now when the nurse mentioned your doctor"

"He didn't act weird, mom"

"Darling, are you sure everything's fine between the two of you?" she persisted.

"Mom, yes, everything's fine, drop it"

"Fine," the older woman relented sensing her daughter didn't want to broach the subject. "Have you two thought about names? Your sister showed me a website where they can customize mobiles with the baby's names"

Before Bella could answer her cellphone rang, it was Edward. She excused herself to take the call.

"Hello"

" _Hey, it's me"_

"What the hell is happening? Where are you?" she whispered.

" _We have a problem"_

"What is it?"

" _So, you know Tanya, your doctor?"_

"Yeah?"

" _Well, she's my wife"_

 **Uh uh...**

 **Hope you enjoyed :)**


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